The pharmacist has traditionally been a product oriented person with little input to the actual care of the patient. The objective of this study is to determine the role of the pharmacist in the patient care area, and as a member of the health care team actively contributing to the patient's care. The pharmacist has proven that he can be patient oriented rather than product oriented. The pharmacist, utilizing new methods, has become a valuable member of the health care team and in contributing directly to the patient care. The following has been accomplished: improving drug prescribing practices by promoting the rational and safe use of drugs, preventing potential drug-drug interactions, detecting and preventing adverse drug reactions, detecting drug induced laboratory test abnormalities, detecting possible drug induced disease, providing drug information, counseling the patient on proper use of drugs, and detecting and preventing intravenous admixture incompatibilities.